Hi everyone, I have come to have great admiration and appreciation for the experiences and knowledge of people on this Helpline, and everyone's willingness to share. It seems that as a group, participants seem to know just about everyplace and everything related to travel in Italy.
I spent last month (Oct 2013) traveling around northern Italy, partly on an RS My Way Tour and partly on my own. Had a wonderful if exhausting trip, and learned a lot of travel lessons. Two places I kept hearing praised, that I had never considered visiting before, were Sicily and the Amalfi Coast. I returned home with a renewed travel bug, and somehow my hands started walking over my keyboard, and with no one to hold me back, and I have just committed to make another 4-week trip to Italy,in May 2014, this time focusing on those two areas, plus the only good return flight I could get for miles on United's Mileage Plus was out of Venice, so my gosh, I'll need to go back north too. Fortunately I love Venice. I have several areas where I can use your guidance, and I'll do this in parts. I know that for arranging good lodging in various places in May, advance scheduling and reservations will be key. My interests are general not specialized: typical life and traditions, great scenery, history, varied art but not so much paintings hanging in frames on walls, festivals and markets, and great food. Rarely met an Italian carb that I didn't really like!
First, Sicily will be the easiest part to plan, as I will begin my trip with the RS May 4 to 13 Sicily Tour. This begins and ends in Palermo, and makes a loop with stops in Cefalo, Taormina/Mt Etna, Catania, Siracusa, Caltagirone and Agrigento, generally two nights each. Of course the tour provides the plan and transport, guides, the lodging and many of the meals.
I will fly into Palermo from the States mid-day on May 1, after a strange flight plan involving two overnight flights with a 10 hour day-long layover at JFK in NY in the middle, plus short flights to begin and end, so I expect to arrive quite wiped out. I will have the days and nights of May 1, 2, 3 and some of 4 before the tour begins, and would appreciate your ideas for that time. I see two basic possibilities for these first days, one would be to stay in or very near Palermo itself, to rest and explore. The other would be to head to the nearby northwest coast of Erice, Trapani, and maybe Marsala and Mazara del Vallo. You might have additional ideas for me.
Do any of you know these areas, and what would you suggest? Would you suggest Palermo or the coast for this time? Can one go directly by bus from Palermo Airport which is west of the city, to that coastal area? Could the coastal area be visited by bus or day tour, or would a rental car be needed? Can you suggest comfortable but affordable lodging in both areas? For the coast, should that be in Erice, Trapani or elsewhere else? (In northern Italy, I was able to find good single rooms in the 60-90 euro range everywhere in October, usually but not always from RS book recommendations. I like clean, comfortable, convenient and friendly, but don't need fancy).
An added possibility is for me to spend three or four more days in Sicily in mid-May after the tour, before heading further north. I could visit the northwest coastal area then, or some other place relatively near Palermo that is not included in the tour. Do any of you have great ideas on that, including lodging recs? I could rent a car for that time, although having a car might be relatively costly and tough to navigate for just one person.
Thanks for your thinking on any of this! Larry